The present invention relates generally to business methods and more particularly to methods for referring practitioners certified to perform certain procedures to prospective patients.
Quality healthcare is a matter of overriding concern to the U.S. and worldwide populations. New medical and dental devices and procedures have been and will continue to contribute significantly to improvements in the quality of healthcare in the U.S. and abroad. Each new procedure is unique, and many new procedures and technologies require a learning period for the practitioner. For many such technologies, the creator of the technology, typically a company having a proprietary interest in the technology, will play a significant role in developing and disseminating the technology to practitioners. Frequently, the company will offer training to licensed doctors, dentists, and other health professionals, and will make “certification” resulting from such training a prerequisite to the dispensing and distribution of devices required to perform the new procedures.
Of particular interest to the present application, Align Technology, Santa Clara, Calif., has recently developed an orthodontic treatment system under the Invisalign® trade name. The Invisalign® System is dispensed to patients only by orthodontic practitioners who have been certified by Align to perform the new orthodontic procedure.
Align Technology, Inc., maintains an advertising campaign intended to inform patients of the availability and advantages of orthodontic treatment using the Invisalign® System. As part of the advertising campaign, potential patients are invited to contact Align by telephone or over the internet. As a result of such solicitation, Align receives many patient inquiries and is in a position to refer patients to individual practitioners.
In referring potential patients to individual practitioners, several objectives must be met. First, the referral process should be inclusive and assure that at least many of the practitioners who have been certified will receive referrals to assist them in developing their practices. It is also important, however, to avoid over loading relatively inexperienced practitioners who might otherwise benefit from additional time and patient experience to develop their skills in the new procedures. Finally, it would be advantageous to direct a larger number of potential patients to those practitioners who have demonstrated an ability to handle larger case loads and who have developed more skills and efficiencies in the new procedures.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to develop and implement new methods and procedures for referring patients to practitioners for performing novel and often proprietary medical procedures. Such methods and systems should provide referrals to most or all of the practitioners who have become certified to perform a new procedure but should preferentially direct referrals to those practitioners who are best able to handle a large number of patients. At least some of these objectives will be met by the inventions described hereinafter.